Comic book giant and Brooklyn native Gerry Conway has died. He was 73.
Marvel Comics announced the death of its famed writer and former editor-in-chief on Monday.
“He was thoughtful, deeply attuned to the emotional and moral core of storytelling, and a wonderful and articulate advocate for comics and creators,”
Marvel Comics and Franchise President Dan Buckley wrote in a statement saying Conway will continue to inspire comic book fans and creators for years to come.
Conway worked on stories featuring superheroes including “Spider-Man,” “Avengers,” “IronMan,” “Fantastic Four,” “The Incredible Hulk” and “Captain Marvel” during a lifetime of storytelling that began professionally when he was 16 years old.
He talked about succeeding fellow Marvel icon Stan Lee as the head writer for “Spider-Man” in a 2025 interview with comic site Sig Slayers. Conway conceded those were big shoes to fill for a teenager.
He went on to create the violent ex-Marine character “The Punisher,” who’s been feature in multiple movies and television shows. Conway liked how other writers further developed The Punisher after he moved on to other projects, but took issue with the way the character’s skull logo was appropriated by misguided law enforcement officers and “self-righteous jerks” in recent years.
“He’s a bad guy, he knows he’s a bad guy,” Conway told Sig Slayers. “He thinks he’s doing right, but we know he’s doing wrong.”
Comicbook.com said Conway “briefly” ran Marvel Comics before returning to writing with a pair of “Spider-Man” comic books in the 1980s.
He also wrote for television shows including “Matlock,” and the “Law & Order” franchise, according to IMDb.
Conway told fans on social media in 2023 that he’d successfully been treated for pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles. Marvel didn’t report on his cause of death.
Conway is survived by his writer wife, Laura Beth Conway, according to Marvel Comics’ tribute.